Yeah... You Did Great
“Yeah... you did great.” Tae-hyun possessed a subtle way of speaking that made his words of comfort sound like mockery. It was a crafty eloquence that a novice like Evangeline could never hope to emulate!
“By the way, what kind of item did you get from Count Lucon back there—”
“That’s not what’s important right now, gullib—I mean, Evangeline.”
“You definitely just said...”
“We can talk about that later. Right now, we need to push inside.”
The fierce melee between the castle gates and the walls was finally drawing to a close.
The players have successfully captured the outer watchtower. Morale rises.
The players have successfully captured the castle gate.
The players have...
Their strategy of completely obliterating everything in their path and then pushing forward with sheer numbers had worked. The demonic beasts sent by the Salavian Order were almost entirely wiped out, and the surviving cultists were in full retreat. All that remained now was the inner wall guarding the royal palace!
“Whoaaaa!”
“They’re running! They’re running!”
The players cheered, realizing they had won this phase of the siege. But Tae-hyun did not share their excitement.
Breaching the inner wall might be even harder...
The Archbishop of the Salavian Order had displayed terrifying power during the previous siege. On top of that, Dominic himself was still in perfect condition. There was no way of knowing what kind of schemes the Salavian Order was cooking up inside the inner wall.
Nothing else for it. We’ll just have to push through with brute force.
Tae-hyun ran over to the other two counts, excluding the deceased Count Osong. Then, he shouted:
“Thanks to your heroic efforts, we have breached the castle gates!”
“Huff, puff...”
“Y-yes, Count Kim Tae-hyun. Surely, I have made the greatest contribution to this victory...”
“But those wicked fiends have retreated to the inner wall where the palace lies, and they are holding their ground! We must drive them out!”
“Can we not rest for just a moment?”
“We cannot! Those vile heretics will recover their strength and strike back immediately. We must strike now while they are weak!”
Both Count Bucard and Count Fibre were in tatters. It was the natural consequence of leading their knight orders directly into the fray. Just a little rest! But Tae-hyun pushed them forward, utterly devoid of blood or tears.
“Well, if that is the case... I suppose I have no choice but to go alone. Though, I worry I might end up taking all the glory for myself...”
“I shall go!”
“As will I!”
Your Speech skill has increased significantly.
“Lord Dominic! The castle gates have been breached!”
“Do not worry.”
“But the current situation is...”
“I told you, do not worry! Those pests will not easily breach this inner wall. What matters right now is the ritual. Once the ritual is complete, I will personally don the crown and sweep away those pathetic insects, so do not fret!”
“But...”
The captain of the guard grew anxious at Dominic’s confident assertions. He had no idea where this blind confidence was coming from. The outer gates and walls had been utterly devastated, and the enraged Expedition was currently pouring through. Combined with the nobles’ private armies, their numbers were staggering! In contrast, the inner wall was currently defended only by the Salavian cultists and the meager remnants of the royal guard. In fact, the regular soldiers who weren’t part of the cult were already planning to desert after hearing of Count Kim Tae-hyun’s terrifying reputation.
“Lord Dominic. Shouldn’t the Archbishop at least step forward? Their momentum is far too...”
“I said no! The Archbishop must remain here until the ritual is complete.”
The ritual taking place inside the palace! The Archbishop’s presence was absolutely essential for it to proceed. Of course, that was Dominic’s perspective. From the guard captain’s point of view, they were already severely short on troops, and having the Archbishop absent was pure torture. The Archbishop, who was capable of wielding all kinds of secret Salavian arts, was practically a one-man army! If he would only come to the walls, he could summon countless demonic beasts and warriors...
“Just hold out.”
“But they possess those wicked bombs. Their destructive power is no joke...”
“Fool. This is the inner wall, not the outer wall. If they attack the inner wall like that, the surrounding area will be completely obliterated, and even the palace itself might collapse. Do you honestly think he would do something so reckless?”
“Ah! Of course!”
“Indeed. Having conquered the outer wall, they will grow arrogant and attempt to attack the inner wall in a way that minimizes collateral damage. Just buy us some time! That is all we need.”
“Whew. At least our casualties are low.” Most of the losses had been sustained by the knight orders. The casualties among the players were miraculously minimal.
“Please let us detonate the bombs!”
“Hmm. But there are a lot of expensive buildings around the inner wall...”
“Please let us detonate the bombs!!”
“And the royal palace is right inside the inner wall, too.”
“Please let us detonate the bombs!!!”
“Fine, fine. Blow it all up.”
Seeing the tearful, pleading faces of the mechanical engineering blacksmiths, Tae-hyun finally gave his permission. Of course, he hadn't agreed just because they begged him. It was for the sake of a swift conquest!
Honestly, it would be way too hard without the bombs...
Tae-hyun was not the type of person to ruin a plan out of greed. If it meant achieving his goal, he was more than willing to cut his potential profits and run!
“Why are my ears itching?”
“Is something the matter?”
“No, it’s nothing. Are we still pursuing Sadiq’s Avatar?”
“Yes. We have resumed the pursuit.”
“Son of a Sadiq... Son of a Kim Tae-hyun... grumble, grumble...”
“Pardon?”
“Nothing.”
Su Ning ground his teeth as he read the report. The damage to the borders of the Auston Kingdom was catastrophic. To recover from this, they had no choice but to impose heavy taxes. Taxes levied through all kinds of creative methods.
Tax for using dungeons within the Auston Kingdom! Tax for utilizing NPCs within the Auston Kingdom! Taxes, taxes, taxes!
These taxes applied not only to ordinary players but to their own guild members as well. They had divided the guild into ranks, restricting access to facilities and dungeons based on one’s tier! With so many guild members, establishing a hierarchy was unavoidable. While this method motivated the members of the Guild Alliance to work harder, it simultaneously bred deep resentment. The lower-ranked general guild members received benefits that were barely any different from those of ordinary players.
Even so, Su Ning and the executives of the Guild Alliance remained confident. They believed that if they kept this up, they would eventually recover from the damages and amass a mountain of gold! That was how significant it was to control an entire kingdom. The revenue generated was on a completely different dimension compared to a mere territory.
Surely that bastard Kim Tae-hyun won’t end up becoming a king... No way, he doesn’t even have a guild... Surely... surely not...
Su Ning felt a dark premonition rising within him. The feeling was so ominous that he had even turned off the siege broadcast. He kept telling himself “surely not,” but wasn’t Kim Tae-hyun the very man who shattered every “surely not” in existence? Even now, the way Sadiq’s Avatar had suddenly appeared and obliterated the Salavian Order’s forces was utterly absurd.
As things continued to spiral, Su Ning could only steel his resolve. He thought of the special forces currently training specifically to counter Kim Tae-hyun!
I will target Kim Tae-hyun relentlessly and bring him down...! Just you wait, Kim Tae-hyun. The one who laughs last is the true victor!
Boom! Crash! Kaboom!
“Hehehe! Fire the bombs!”
I think they’re slowly losing their minds.
This siege was absolute paradise for the mechanical engineering blacksmiths. A golden opportunity to blow up and destroy things to their hearts’ content! When would they ever get another chance like this?
Watching the inner walls crack and the gates shake, Tae-hyun fell into deep thought.
But why aren’t the other executives showing up? I expected the Archbishop to make an appearance by now...
The Archbishop of the Salavian Order, who had raised an entire army by himself to wage war. He was an enemy NPC who had left a powerful impression not just on Tae-hyun, but on all the players. He should have naturally appeared to defend the inner wall...
Carbanog warns of an impending ritual!
The Impending Ritual
As the Avatar of Archisus and a Count, you have successfully breached the capital's outer walls through remarkable leadership and outstanding tactics. However, a potent Salavian power is currently emanating from the palace within the inner wall. This is clear evidence of an ongoing ritual! You must breach the inner wall as quickly as possible to stop the ritual. There is no telling what will happen if the ritual succeeds.
🎁 Reward: ?, ????
Damn it! Tae-hyun clicked his tongue. He had let his guard down because breaching the outer wall had been too easy. When the enemy didn’t play aggressively, he should have realized they were up to something!
I got too distracted commanding the players, blowing up the walls, taking down Count Osong, dealing with Count Lucon, stealing the knight orders, and secretly looting items! I should have worked harder!
If anyone else had heard his thoughts, they would have looked at him as if he were a complete madman.
“Guys! Follow me!”
“Huh? Where to?”
Without answering, Tae-hyun began to sprint. Though the rest of the party was bewildered, they quickly ran after him.
-Master.
“What is it?”
-By the way, aren’t you going to look for Golgol-i?
“Ah.”
-Don’t tell me you forgot about him...
“N-no, of course not.”
At Heuk-heuk’s words, Tae-hyun finally remembered Golgol-i. Seriously, where did that guy go?
-Do you think he died?
“You sound suspiciously hopeful. He’s not dead. If he died, a notification would have popped up because he would have been unsummoned.”
Since he possessed Golgol-i’s summoning ring, even if the Death Knight had been unsummoned, he could simply summon him again after a cooldown. Since no such message had appeared, Golgol-i was definitely still alive!
-Then maybe he got caught in one of the bomb blasts and is lying collapsed somewhere...
“...Actually, that’s a distinct possibility.”
-Kehehehe. What a pathetic sight that would—
“You’re being way too obvious about your true feelings.”
Infiltrating the inner wall was easy, given that everything around them was exploding. Of course, the bombs showed no mercy to Tae-hyun’s party either.
“Aaaah! Kim Tae-hyun! Tell those guys to stop!”
Evangeline screamed as she activated a skill. The whistling sound of a bomb flying toward her from behind sent a shiver down her spine.
“Sorry. Just do your best to dodge.”
“Look at him! Just because he’s the only one who doesn’t take damage! That is so unfair!!”
Cain nodded in agreement with Evangeline’s complaints. But then, his eyes met Tae-hyun’s.
“...”
“M-my neck was just stiff...”
“...”
“I’m serious! I really mean it!”
Thud. Landing on their feet, the party quickly rushed inside. A dark, reddish-black mist blanketed the area, severely obscuring their vision.
“There’s a dead end over there, so come this way.”
“How do you know the way so well?”
Evangeline looked at him in wonder. Despite the zero visibility, Tae-hyun was navigating the terrain as if he had a map engraved in his mind!
“I’ve been here a few times before.”
“Ah, right. You received a noble title... I guess that makes sense.”
Evangeline nodded in understanding. Of course, the real reason Tae-hyun knew the layout so well was because he had previously snuck in to rob the place.
Tae-hyun came to a sudden halt.
“Evangeline. Cain.”
“?”
“...”
When Tae-hyun called their names, Evangeline tilted her head in confusion, while Cain felt a sudden wave of dread. Why did it have to be him and Evangeline? If Tae-hyun had called Lee Da-bi or Yu Ji-soo along with them, it wouldn’t have felt this ominous...
“I have a job for you two. Go inside and disrupt that ritual.”
“Ugh!”
Cain lamented the fact that his dark premonitions were always spot-on. Why did they never fail to come true?! He desperately tried to resist.
“Uh... just the two of us?”
“Yes.”
“W-what about you? Let’s go together. I’m scared.”
Seeing that Tae-hyun had no intention of entering and was sending only the two of them, Cain was absolutely certain that whatever lay ahead was incredibly dangerous and sinister.
“My HP is too low to handle the strain.”
Because of the ongoing ritual inside the palace, anyone who entered would have their HP continuously drained! The best candidates for this task were Cain, who had a ridiculously massive HP pool, and Evangeline, who also boasted high HP alongside various vampiric drain skills.
“We’ll keep watch out here, so go on in. Hurry.”
“Alright. I’ll do it.”
Evangeline readily nodded. She was already on a quest to dismantle the Salavian Order, and she felt like she hadn’t contributed much to the expedition so far. She could handle this much!
But Cain was different. The sheer amount of time he had spent suffering under Tae-hyun’s schemes was on a whole other level compared to Evangeline.
Ugh... I don’t want to go... I really don’t want to go...
Why is he acting like this?